MMAjunkie’s ‘Knockout of the Month’ for September 2014

MMAjunkie’s ‘Knockout of the Month’ for September 2014

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMAjunkie takes a look at the best knockouts in September. Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMAjunkie’s “Knockout of the Month” award for the month.

At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice for “Knockout of the Month.”

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The Nominees

Tamdan McCrory def. Brennan Ward at Bellator 123

Tamdan McCrory’s (12-3) decision to return from a five-year break from competition was clearly the right one. “The Barncat” starched former Bellator title challenger Brennan Ward (9-3) in a mere 21 seconds for a highlight-reel knockout. McCrory hurt his opponent with punches on the feet, and in an incredible display hand speed, unloaded a series of accurate blows as Ward crashed to the canvas.

Emanuel Newton def. Joey Beltran at Bellator 124

Bellator light heavyweight champion Emanuel Newton (24-7-1) continued to make his synonymous with the spinning-backfist knockout with a brutal finish of Joey Beltran (15-11) in his first title defense. For the second time in the span of five fights, Newton clobbered his opponent with the technique and scored the knockout as a result.

Ozzy Dugulubgov def. Keon Caldwell at WSOF 13

Ozzy Dugulubgov (6-2) proved why he’s one of the most highly regarded prospects on the WSOF roster when he crushed Keon Caldwell (10-3) with a perfectly placed right hand. After two competitive rounds in which both men landed shots frequently, Caldwell’s chin couldn’t withstand the ferocity of the final strike and crashed to the mat while out cold.

Andrei Arlovski def. Antonio Silva at UFC Fight Night 51

Former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski (23-10) avenged his May 2010 loss to Antonio Silva (18-6-1) with a stunning first-round knockout of “Bigfoot” in the rematch. Expectations for Arlovski’s performance were low after he returned to the octagon with a dull victory over Brendan Schaub in June. However, he showed the world he’s still a relevant member of the heavyweight division when he dropped Silva with a straight punch and capped off the performance with a ruthless onslaught of hammerfists.

Mark Hunt def. Roy Nelson at UFC Fight Night 52

The seemingly indestructible chin of Roy Nelson (20-10) was finally cracked in Japan when Mark Hunt (10-8-1) smashed “Big Country” with a massive uppercut in the second round of their main event bout. Nelson has been hit by some of the division’s hardest strikers in the UFCand never went down. That didn’t matter to Hunt, though, as he landed the perfect shot and became the first to stop Nelson with strikes since 2008.

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The Winner: Mark Hunt

In a battle of hulking heavyweights, Hunt and Nelson went punch for punch, and Hunt’s fists had the last word.

Hunt became the first fighter to knock out Nelson in the UFC, stopping him at the 3:00 mark of the second round with a well-timed uppercut that sent “The Ultimate Fighter 10” winner face-first to the canvas.

The heavyweight bout was the main event of UFC Fight Night 52, which took place Sept. 20 at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

Nelson looked for a takedown early and slugged it out when Hunt shrugged off his attempts. He flung a trademark right hand at Hunt, who deftly bobbed his head out of the way and worked combinations inside. When Nelson’s right hand landed, Hunt shrugged it off.

Hunt briefly found himself on the mat in the second round when Nelson timed a takedown and took back control, but he escaped and continued to trade. A minute into the round, Nelson’s mouth hung open, and he shot for another takedown. Meanwhile, Hunt began to lead with his uppercut.

He finally found a home for that uppercut, and as Nelson crippled to the mat, Hunt walked off from his fallen body to celebrate the win.

On the same night that Michael Chandler faced Eddie Alvarez in one of the best fights in Bellator history, Dan Henderson and “Shogun” Rua battered one another in the main event of UFC 139. For fight fans trying to follow along, it was a dizzying and (…)